Jungkook groggily walked to the bus stop on the following Monday morning. He woke up early this morning to take a quick jog to wake him up for the long day ahead of him. Basketball practice begins in the afternoon, and he knows he must be in tip top shape to do great. He was also carrying extra weight on him that any onlooker couldn’t see straight away.

Jungkook created a goal for himself that he had to complete by the end of the week. He must talk to someone new and make plans to hang out with them. This wouldn’t be a hard task for anyone other than Jungkook, but Jungkook prided himself on his small circle. He never believed that a person’s worth was based off how many friends they had but rather on how their character is. However, he does realize he needs a friend in his music class or it was going to be a long year.

“This week is going to go well,” Jungkook muttered to himself at the bus stop. “I’m the deciding factor in my future, and I have to do more in life.”

Jungkook’s pep talk was interrupted by a sleepy Jimin. He plopped down next to Jungkook, and he let his head fall on his shoulder.

“I barely slept last night,” Jimin said as he let out a huge yawn. “I honestly hope today will end as soon as possible.”

Jungkook brought his hand up and began patting Jimin’s head gently. Jimin let a small sigh.

“You’ll be fine,” Jungkook said reassuringly. “Be grateful you don’t have a two-hour practice waiting for you once school is over.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” Jimin said in response. “I wanted to wish you good luck on your first practice of the year. I really hope the team does well this year! The team will be in good hands with you on the team.”

“Thanks for that Jimin,” Jungkook said with relief in his voice. “I just don’t want to let anyone down. I know the coach is counting on me.”

They continued to talk while waiting for the bus. A figure approached the bus stop, a man with glasses.

“Look at that, Jungkook has a boyfriend,” Taehyung thought. “I didn’t expect someone like him to be so open with a relationship. I guess he is full of surprises.”

The bus approached, and the trio boarded. The two best friends kept up their conversation, and the teacher looked from afar. Jungkook let Jimin lay his head on his shoulder for a majority of the ride, not thinking much of the interaction. Jimin, on the other hand, was eating up all the contact he could receive from Jungkook. The teacher was quite perplexed.

“There is no way that quiet child from my beginner class is in a relationship,” Taehyung thought. “This is inconceivable.”

As Taehyung kept questioning everything he thought he knew about Jungkook, Jimin was having different thoughts.

“Maybe, maybe Jungkook does like me,” Jimin thought with hopefulness. “I know he has always let me rest my head on his shoulder, but we are getting older. Surely he knows this is something that only two people who care deeply about each other would do.”

Unlike the other two individuals who were thinking critically about Jungkook, Jungkook was thinking about who he would approach in his music class to befriend.

“I honestly haven’t paid that much attention to anyone in the class,” Jungkook thought. “I have been more focused on learning everything I can about music. I guess I’ll just go into class today, and the first person I make I see will be the person I befriend.”

The remainder of the bus ride was silent.

The morning classes and lunch weren’t of significance importance to Jungkook. Over the weekend he got a week or so ahead of his schedule, so he didn’t have any of that to worry about. What was on his mind the entire morning was who he was going to befriend during music. He attempted to talk himself out of the goal, but he knew that wasn’t the best choice. After a dreadful morning, he finally made it to the music class.

Jungkook first person he saw was a girl by the name of Lee Jieun. She was a class grade above him and coincidentally also well known by the student body.

“You have to do this,” Jungkook thought, prepping himself for his introduction.

After a few seconds, Jungkook’s feet began walking to Jieun. She arrived early to class, so none of her friends were there yet. It was almost as if fate made this moment perfect.

“Hi there,” Jungkook began. “My name is Jungkook, and I thought I would introduce myself before class started.”

“Oh, hello!” Jieun said with a bubbly voice. “My name is Lee Jieun, nice to meet you!”

The two bowed to one another, and an awkward silence fell upon the two people.

“So, what’s up?” Jieun questioned.

“Nothing, I just thought I would say hi to you,” Jungkook said timidly, cringing at how weird he must look.

At that moment Jieun’s friends came over to talk to her, and Jungkook took this as his chance to escape from the situation he put himself in.

“Well, that could’ve gone a lot worse,” Jungkook thought, attempting to make himself feel better about embarrassing himself. “Oh well, maybe class is going to be fun.”

“Good morning class,” Taehyung said, interrupting Jungkook’s thoughts. “I hope you are all refreshed after the weekend, and we are going to jump right into class. If everyone can go to your respective instrument, please.”

As everyone moved to their instrument, Jungkook realized that Jieun kept glancing over at him.

“Maybe my small introduction did work,” Jungkook thought, somewhat happy that he succeeded.

“Over the weekend I gave you all the assignment to read over a piece of music that is centered upon your instrument,” Taehyung said. “For the following days I will ask you to attempt to play the music, and I want each of you to help others in your group. If you are getting far ahead of your peers, then take time to teach others. I will be floating, but I do want each of you to help one another. Begin!”

Jungkook was panicking because he did not have anyone who was playing guitar with him.

“Great, now I’m going to have to struggle,” Jungkook thought.

“Hello Jungkook,” Taehyung said as he sat next to Jungkook. “How was your weekend?”

Jungkook was caught completely off guard.

“It was fine I guess,” Jungkook said. “Thanks for asking. What about you?”

“It was a nice, relaxing weekend to say the least,” Taehyung responded. “Sorry if I startled you. I realized that no one else chose the guitar, and so I was coming over here to help you. I know learning how to play an instrument can be challenging, and I really don’t want to see you getting frustrated. Plus, I already see a lot of potential in you.”

“Do you really Mr. Kim?” Jungkook questions, taken aback by Taehyung’s honesty. “Is it because you saw me strum last week?”

“I mean that did play a part, but that’s not the entire reason,” Taehyung said. “Your mannerisms are different from others in this class. A lot of people are taking this class to get their fine arts credit taken care of, but you aren’t like that. The way you look at the guitar is different. You may not participate in class discussions, but you soak in all the knowledge I spew out in class. You have potential not only because of raw talent, but also because you are dedicated. That’s a hard characteristic to find.”

Jungkook was not expecting to hear that brutally honest response. Growing up, Jungkook was always praised for being good at everything that he does, but it wasn’t like he was trying hard. However, this is different from academics or basketball. Jungkook must try to learn what every string is, and he struggles with creating certain sounds he wants. Playing guitar makes him feel more accomplished than winning a basketball game with a 3-point buzzer ball.

“Thank you, Mr. Kim,” Jungkook said while bowing.

“No need to thank me,” Taehyung replied. “Anyway, what do you say? Want my help?”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Jungkook confessed.

Taehyung spent the rest of the class helping Jungkook with learning how to place his fingers in the correct order, and making sure Jungkook understood everything fully. Jungkook felt at ease around his teacher. He couldn’t explain it, but Jungkook did not feel like he was being judged. Oddly enough, Taehyung made Jungkook feel safe. Before the duo noticed, the bell rang, and their time together came to an abrupt close.

“Look at that,” Taehyung said. “The class is over. I would like to say that you have been improving at an astonishing rate Jungkook, and I truly see potential in you. Make sure you don’t tell any of the other student’s okay.”

“Thank you so much Mr. Kim,” Jungkook said with a big smile on his face. “I think I’m getting the hang of it!”

“Have a good rest of the day!” Taehyung said while getting prepared for his following class.

“Goodbye!” Jungkook exclaimed while running out of the class.

“That felt nice,” Jungkook thought.

The rest of Jungkook’s day was nice.